What had been the 107.3 WBBL stream on Tune In (not to be confused with the Thunder 107.3 stream, which was originally the Nash 94.5 stream) is now playing Adult Album Alternative!

Unless this is a short-lived stunt in advance of the real format - it appears 94.5 in Grand Rapids is going to become a near replica of 107.1 Ann Arbor!

Didn't see this coming. Interesting choice for such a strong signal, especially given the fact commercial AAA stations are generally on the decline right now. My guess is the Grand Rapids station will feature a little more in the way of true alternative than 107.1 in Ann Arbor and a little less in the way of the light stuff & new wave stuff.

I mentioned in one of the other threads that the URLs "thunder1073.com" and "945theq.com" were registered on the same day by Cumulus' usual registrar back on December 19.

My guess is the WKLQ call sign will be making a reappearance at 94.5 FM, albeit with a far different format than before!

This launch was terribly LAME. It was done with virtually zero fanfare.

Radio-X 96.1 fared poorly with a similar format about ten years ago. I'm very surprised by this choice. Hopefully "the Q" is executed much better than 96.1 was.

Sidenote - the Thunder logo on its temporary web site has been updated to now display the 107.3 logo only. On-air IDs still mention both frequencies, though.

Who owns that station? If it’s IFart, could it be possible the same could happen to 106.7 in Detroit, I know 106.7 is alternative now but all they need to do is adjust to a AAA format. What do you think MW?

Edit - I stand corrected. They just ran about a 5 minute launch montage. Not bad! Sounded well produced.

Positioners are as follows:
"The Q - it's different here."
"True Music Discovery."

Also, I don't think this station is going to have a contemporary alternative lean. I was wrong about that. This is gonna sound just like 107.1 in Ann Arbor, if the launch montage is any indication.

To answer Oldies 84 - Cumulus is the owner. Same owner as 107.1 Ann Arbor.

Very interesting that an unproven AAA format was given 94.5 MHz over Hot-FM. Line of sight into downtown GR and the southern burbs is far better from the 94.5 site than the 105.3 site. 94.5 has a city grade signal in downtown GR.

Fans of Planet 96.3 during its Modern AC era may also appreciate this new station. I'm hearing a good amount of 90's Modern AC-type material.

Cumulus hasn't had much success with the AAA format outside of Ann Arbor. Kruz @ 106.7 in Green Bay, KFOG in San Francisco, Frequency 94.1 in Cincinnati and an attempt to resurrect the format at 93.3 in Dallas (very short lived) all come to mind.

If iHeart had any inclination to flip 101.3 to Alternative, they waited too long. They'll still come out winners, though, as 96.1 is likely to pick up ratings now that Sports is kaput at 107.3 FM and relegated to a staticy AM and flea-powered FM translator.

Now, can we please make Blunder 107-3 sound more like the excellent W4 Country?

I mean - if the AAA station was cut from the mold of an Ann Arbor FM station, why not do the same for the Country station?

Seriously, the stationality of 107.3 in Grand Rapids sounds lousy right now. I absolutely hate the voiceovers, and the playlist seems to have shrunk, too. A month ago, the station's playlist had a lot more breadth than B93 and wasn't OD'ing on the 'bro" country and faux country as much as B93. Now, the music sounds like a carbon copy of what B93 plays.

Edit - it appears Jackie Green will either be moving from Hot-FM to the Q or will be pulling double duty. Wouldn't be a bad idea to move her. The ratings in multiple dayparts on 105.3 are terrible right now. She doesn't sound good on that station and perhaps will fit better on 94.5.